1,000-foot rule is officers' 'biggest headache'

Police say the law is pointless and needs revisited

Jun. 30, 2013

Agent Lauren Roberts speaks with a registered sex offender after locating him walking through the Village. Parole agents from the Indiana Department of Correction do regular residency checks with sex offenders on parole. Agents check that the offenders are truly living in the places that they have registered as their residence. The checks can take place at any time of the day or night and can be scheduled or unscheduled. / Patti Blake/ The Star Press

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Convicted sex offenders in Indiana have several rules and guidelines they must follow once released from prison, none of which are as frustrating to Henry County Sheriff Butch Baker as the “1,000-foot rule.”

According to Indiana law, subjects who are declared offenders against children or sexually-violent predators cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school property, daycare center, youth program center or public park.

But, in most cases, nothing is stopping that offender from making a visit to those same areas, which are oftentimes filled with children.

“Yeah, you can’t live there,” Baker said. “But you can go to that school, that park, and go sit on the swings with the kids. It’s our biggest headache.”

Baker and other local law enforcement officials say they are encouraging state lawmakers to revisit the 1,000-foot rule, which, according to the sheriff, can be a time-consuming — and even time-wasting — endeavor for the officers tasked with making routine residence checks on offenders, many of whom are moving from home to home to evade officers.

“I understand the reason behind it — you don't want a predator so close you can run and snatch somebody and be gone and out of sight in 15 seconds,” said Jay Davis, a major with the Henry County Sheriff’s Department. “But it's not a violation for them to go sit on the swing. They can go sit in the park all day long. It doesn't make a lot of sense.”

By state law, all offenders are required to notify their local county sheriff’s department of any changes to their home address within three days of the move. Cpl. Nancy Marvin with the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office said several offenders — tired of being under the watchful eye of law enforcement — simply try to skirt the system by moving around without notifying the proper authorities.

In Delaware County — which has nearly 200 registered sex offenders — keeping tabs on the living situations of offenders can be a nearly impossible task, according to Marvin.

“It can be very difficult,” she said. “We have warrants out now for some who have absconded. One minute they’re there, and the next minute they’re going to be packing up and gone — unless you’re standing there watching every day, and you can’t do that with 190 of them in our county.”

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Though the 1,000-foot rule is unpopular among local law enforcement, effectively changing the law could be a complicated process.

Offenders against children and sexually-violent predators could be banned altogether from schools, daycares, parks and youth program centers, which could also require them to wear ankle bracelets with GPS monitoring. But that could be costly, either for taxpayers or for the offender themselves, who often couldn’t afford to foot the bill, anyway.

“We use some GPS monitoring on some of our work-release inmates, and it’s rather expensive,” Davis said. “The monthly charge and the daily service fees that we pay for that can add up pretty quick.”

For now, however, local law enforcement officials are encouraging the public to be on the lookout for possible predators grooming children on playgrounds or at schools. Those with concerns are also encouraged to call their local police department, or can submit tips online — even anonymously — at www.icrimewatch.net/indiana.php.